Beware the neighbour’s new basement

The fashion for the wealthy to dig out new basements means hell for those living nearby… MORE

From our perspective the bigger issue is the Party Wall problem, any adjacent excavation and underpinning will need Party Wall notification, and underpinning is just what they are going to do…. deep 3 or 4m underpins beneath the party walls, big beams across the front and back to allow new windows onto the front and rear… all in all its big chunky work that is potentially prejudicial to your property.

So when that party wall notice drops through the door or you nice neighbours come to see you, don’t ignore it or say its all OK. A Party wall Award is what is needed to protect you…

We’ve done half a dozen basement party wall jobs this year and every one, yep, that’s all of them has resulted in damage to the neighbouring property, the biggest damage this year costing more than £25big ones to put right…. that’s without considering the big underpinning job that currently stands at £250,000 and rising in damage.

Need more advice about Party Wall Notices and basements? Give us a call….

Oh, and if it’s you that’s having the basement built you pick up the cost of repairs in the first instance NOT your contractor, although of course if they are caused by the contractor you should be able to claim against them… that’s assuming they actually have some assets or their insurers agree with you and pick up the tab. And, don’t rely on your own buildings insurance – it usually has an exclusion against contractors damage so you’re on your own!

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